The Yale Book of Quotations

Selected as a 2007 "Outstanding" book by AAUP University Press Books for Public and Secondary School Libraries

Named a Best Book of 2006 by amazon.com

Received Honorable Mention from the Professional and Scholarly Publishing Division of the Association of American Publishers (PSP/AAP) in the category of single-volume reference, humanities and social sciences

Winner of the Bronze ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Award in Reference

Selected as an Outstanding Academic Title for 2007 by ChoiceMagazine

A finalist in the category of Nonfiction for the 2007 Connecticut Book Award, given by the Connecticut Center for the Book

This reader-friendly volume contains more than 12,000 famous quotations, arranged alphabetically by author. It is unique in its focus on American quotations and its inclusion of items not only from literary and historical sources but also from popular culture, sports, computers, science, politics, law, and the social sciences. Anonymously authored items appear in sections devoted to folk songs, advertising slogans, television catchphrases, proverbs, and others.

For each quotation, a source and first date of use is cited. In many cases, new research for this book has uncovered an earlier date or a different author than had previously been understood. (It was Beatrice Kaufman, not Sophie Tucker, who exclaimed, “I’ve been poor and I’ve been rich. Rich is better!” William Tecumseh Sherman wasn’t the originator of “War is hell!” It was Napoleon.) Numerous entries are enhanced with annotations to clarify meaning or context for the reader. These interesting annotations, along with extensive cross-references that identify related quotations and a large keyword index, will satisfy both the reader who seeks specific information and the curious browser who appreciates an amble through entertaining pages.

Fred R. Shapiro is associate librarian and lecturer in legal research at the Yale Law School. He is a well-known authority on quotations and the editor of The Oxford Dictionary of American Legal Quotations.